New Digital Tools Match Up With Interim Common Core Assessments -- THE Journal

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New Digital Tools Match Up With Interim Common Core Assessments

By Michael Hart
08/11/15

A new set of digital assignments in math and English will be available this fall that are pegged to interim assessments intended to help students meet Common Core State Standards.

The new digital tools from Compass Learning are designed to match up with the Interim Assessment Blocks provided by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).

SBAC is one of two agencies responsible for providing assessments of how students in grades 3-8 and all high school students are doing with meeting Common Core standards. SBAC provides assessments for 15 states, one territory and the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The interim assessments are intended to help teachers check their students' progress throughout the school year, giving them information on how to adjust instruction.

The new digital assignments use video, animation and interactive features to help students with their math and English language skills. They are closely aligned with the interim assessments so that teachers can help their students with gaps in their learning revealed by the tests.

Beginning with the 2015-16 school year, the assignments will be added at no charge to Compass Learning's Pathblazer Hybridge, Compass Learning High School and Odyssey learning acceleration software products.

"Our goal with this new alignment is to help teachers by providing another way to take immediate action on the student data they already have," said Compass Learning Vice President Eileen Shihadeh, "and thus enable them to better shape their students instructional time for maximum effectiveness."

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

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